5/16" (.312) hole, 6" deep

[Bill]

I am looking for a 5/16 drill bit, probably a brad point (it needs to drill, with very little wander, through end grain of tamarind and ash), with about 6" of flute (likely about 8" OAL) to let me insert a piece of O-1 rod through a handle and into a rolling pin for reinforcement.

I turned a ~3/4" x 1" tenon on the handles and then grabbed a 3/4" Forstener bit to make a hole in the end of the rolling pin. Add a little dab of polyurethane glue and I should be golden.

Right?

Unfortunately, since leaving the machine trades, I've gotten careless in my thinking. I didn't check the drill size. It is plainly marked 13/16". So what was intended to have about .005" slop per side for glue allowance ended up with ~0.030" slop per side ... clearly a poor fit.

So, I was able to line the handles up pretty well and get them glued in place. The rolling pin (ash body with tamarind handles ... sorry, no pic, my camera is kaputz)looks and feels really nice. As I was scraping the excess glue off this morning, though, the thought occurred that inserting the afore-mentioned metal pin would not only strengthen it so as to place it into the 'future heirloom' category, but add a bit of pizzazz to its appearance once the end of the rod was polished flush with the ends of the handles

Thus this question: does anyone know where I can find extra length brad point bits?

Without buying a new chuck AND a new drill, I cannot grip this in my lathe and use a lamp auger. Besides which, "feels okay" and "truly concentric" are not quite the same. I think that the actual misalignments are probably best compensated for on the drill press. I have a wooden-jaw v-block clamp that I can use to hang the rolling pin outboard by each handle in turn. It is okay for the pin to be eccentric to the body as long as it is (more or less) concentric to the handles and gripping the handles in a v-block will let me set them up colinear to the drill bit.

If anyone has got better thinking on my proposed method of making these holes, now would be a good time to speak up.

Thanks in advance,

Bill

PS .. I considered turning a plug and re-drilling, however, SWMBO is itchy to do some baking today but needs a new tool first. Sound familiar? ;-)

[dpb]

My first thought is to use bradpoint of Forstner to start and then that for guide for deeper w/ twist or augur.....

[Andy]

I think that would work also. If you'd prefer a brad point, googling for 'extra long brad point drill" produced

my memory produced like a nice rolling pin - can you post a picture when you're done and you get your camera fixed? Good luck, Andy

[Jim]

Electrician's bits are 18 " long. I have one around here somewhere that is

1/4". However, whether you could do what you want with such a beast is questionable to say the least. However, I don't believe that 6 ' long bits are all that scarce. Jim

[Leif Thorvaldson]

====>I've used D-bits for this. The are ideal for the job. I make my own out of drill steel stock which you can buy in any diameter you need. A good illustration of what you need to do is at:

[lwasserm]

Here's some:

?itemnumber=33449I bought a set of 12" long brad points from them some time ago but looks like the web site isn't currently listing them. If you have a local store maybe they have some on the shelf.

[Lew Hodgett]

Jamestown Distributors has that specific drill (8" O/A, 6" flute)

Lew

[Bill]

I am embarrassed to admit that I already knew about D bits (having used them with a sensitive drill) but simply didn't think about them. DOH!

You guys are the best! I spent a good hour Googling for longer brad-point bits and found none ... ZERO ... and almost every one of you were able to scrounge some up.

I was 99.9% certain that they existed, but couldn't seem to scare one up.

Thanks gang ... I'll make a D bit out of the O-1 for this go-round while I am waiting for brad points to arrive for the next go-round. There are a couple of problems with D bits and I'm going to run into both of them with this project ... horrible chip clearance (ie: none) and friction with the sides of the hole. Still, for this job I can muddle through somehow and be ready for the next project when it gets here.

Again, thanx!

Bill

[Gerard]

Perhaps worthwhile to explore:

well made tools.

[CW]

Don't know about that. I've never seen a 5/16 bit 6 feet long.

[Mike R. Courteau]

Busy Bee tools sells them in sets starting with 1/8" all the way to

3/8" I think. They are about 18" long. Plenty long for what you need. I have a set and can get you more information on them tomorrow if you wish.

Mike

Bill wrote:

[Bill]

Yaeh ... might have some even deeper drilling in my near future ... say, a lamp or two.

Bill

[Leif Thorvaldson]

====>Hi, again! I have drilled holes with Dbits varying in diameter from

3/8's to 1" and what you say is right about the chip clearance and the heat generated agains the sides. It requires constant pulling out of the bit and it helps if you have a compressed air source to blow out the chips. I was using water to help cool the wood, most of which evaporated from the heat and didn't get absorbed into the wood. I would recommend that if you have a fairly large hole to drill, that you do it in stages with gradually increasing bit diameters. That helps cut down on the heat and speeds up the drilling.Since you have had previous experience with Dbits, maybe I'm trying to teach my grandfather how to suck eggs!!*G*

Leif

[Bill]

Since you have had previous experience with Dbits, maybe I'm trying

The D-bits I have used in the past were smaller than all but a few of the wire sizes. But cutting causes heat and heat closes a hole up and a D-bit drill does not have the back taper that a regular drill has (measure a new one ... it's there) for clearance. It's easy to see that the cut wood fibers would rub against the shaft and get even hotter until either siezing or burning stopped the cycle.

I don't have compressed air available and the final hole needs to be quite deep, so I'm undecided as to whether to attempt the D-drill or to just order the longer drill bits (with flutes for chip clearance) recommended above.

Maybe the thing to do is to grind a D-drill and practice on a scrap of the same wood before committing the finished rolling pin to the process.

SWMBO is happy with it now. I'm the one who has doubts as to its strength. If she comes home and I have to tell her that she's back on the waiting list, it could be a long time before I can come back indoors. And winter is nearly here.

Bill

[bigegg]

Couldn't the d-bit be tapered so only the first inch (say) is full diameter?

Alternatively:

is this any good?

[Gerald Ross]

You can get them at MLCS, 12 inches long. Not sure how long the flutes are, but if less than 6" just back out and clear the chips before continuing. That is probably a good idea anyway.

[lwasserm]

Modern materials are great. I would venture that plastic rolling pins, and aluminum rather than cast iron skillets, have lessened the injuries of many a husband.

[Lew Hodgett]

Ya but the taste of the food cooked in aluminum sucks.

You can pry my cast iron chicken fryer from my cold dead hand.

BTW, IMHO, my rolling pins are just one piece. At least that's what the pros use.

Lew

[J. Clarke]

Plastic rolling pins?!?!?!?!? All of them that I have seen that aren't wood are marble.

(Flashing on Betty White doing in her boyfriend on an episode of Boston Legal)

I'm not sure that modern stuff is all that much of an improvent--I have this titanium wok that you really, _really_ don't want to get hit with. Better handle and better balance than the cast iron frying pan, weighs about the same, and probably a good deal harder.

[Bill]

When I finished the ash rolling pin, my wife threw away her brand-new plastic one. I've never seen her throw anything that still had a moment of useful life remaining away before. But she didn't even flinch when she pitched that pin. That tells me all I need to know about plastic rolling pins.

I've since explained the anticipated strengthening surgery to her and gotten her approval to do it.

I REALLY want to thank all who chimed in with responses ... especially those who included URLs.